Film

Ek Villain

Name: Ek Villain
Genre: Romance, Action, Crime, Thriller
Released: 2014
Cast: Sidharth Malhotra, Shraddha Kapoor, Riteish Deshmukh, Aamna Shariff, Asif Basra

Crime

A stylish Bollywood thriller that stacks a revenge plot, a serial killer hunt, and a love story into one propulsive narrative. It's deliberately ridiculous in the best way—operatic violence, dramatic twists, gorgeous cinematography. Perfect if you want thrills without apology and don't need everything to make perfect sense.

TMDb rating

3.3

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like a thriller that lets a love story and a manhunt bleed into each other, and you don't mind a plot that bends toward melodrama to get there.

Skip it if you want a lean, tightly plotted crime story, because this one stops for songs and sentiment, and its middle stretches out longer than its hunt needs.

What it asks of you: Settle in for a little over two hours that swing between tender and brutal, with the romance held at a slow simmer before violence erupts in sudden bursts.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Raees2017

Shah Rukh Khan as a charismatic smuggler caught between crime and morality. Same DNA as Ek Villain: high-octane action sequences, romantic tension, and a hero who operates in moral grey zones with absolute conviction.

But The plot mechanics creak under scrutiny, and the final act relies heavily on coincidence rather than earned tension or character logic.

Commando - A One Man Army2013

Vidyut Jammwal in a relentless action thriller with minimal plot but maximum momentum. If you want pure adrenaline and inventive fight choreography without the romance subplot, this delivers exactly that energy.

But The story is genuinely thin, the acting is functional at best, and it's essentially ninety minutes of one man destroying everyone in his path.

Happy Bhag Jayegi2016

A rom-com heist that shares Ek Villain's willingness to blend genres without apology. Shraddha Kapoor again, lighter tone, but the same affection for genre mashups and commitment to entertainment over logic.

But The chaotic genre-mixing means nothing lands with real weight. It wants to be funny, romantic, and thrilling, and mostly just feels scattered.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Ek Villain

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Exorcist1973

Both fixate on a killer loose in the narrative landscape, but where Ek Villain makes violence operatic, Raat makes it claustrophobic and intimate. Same fear, different register.

A micro-budget indie thriller—two hours of pure paranoia and dread set in a village during a single night. Shares Ek Villain's serial killer obsession but strips away the Bollywood gloss to find something genuinely unsettling underneath. Utterly hypnotic.

But Slow-burn atmospheric tension with minimal action. If you came for thrills and gunfights, this will feel like watching paint dry in the dark.

Kahaani2012

Masterclass in suspense and twists. A pregnant woman searches for her missing husband through Kolkata during Durga Puja—genuinely tense, beautifully shot, and Vidya Balan is mesmerizing. Proves Hindi thrillers can be tight and smart.

But It's slower-paced than Ek Villain, more interested in atmosphere than action. Some find the twist unsatisfying on repeat viewings.

Pyaasa1957

The grandfather of Bollywood noir. A doomed poet navigates love, betrayal, and moral corruption in post-Partition Delhi. Guru Dutt's visual poetry and existential despair are the DNA of every stylish Hindi thriller that follows, including this one.

But It's in black and white, moves at 1950s pace, and is more interested in mood and philosophy than plot momentum. Modern audiences often find it slow.

Udta Punjab2016

Pulpy crime thriller that doesn't look away from violence or addiction. Shahid Kapoor gives the most committed performance here, and it has the same 'too much energy to contain' quality that makes Ek Villain entertaining.

But The melodrama is unironic and overwhelming. If you need subtlety or restraint from your cinema, this will feel exhausting.

Shootout at Wadala2013

A period gangster film with real kinetic energy. Based on true events but shot like a pulp fiction comic book. Riteish Deshmukh (your Rakesh here) in a different register, and it shares that commitment to style-over-substance momentum.

But The historical liberties are wild, the characterization is thin, and it's essentially a series of well-shot action sequences strung together.

Humraaz2002

An earlier thriller about betrayal, serial murder, and conspiracy. Feels like the spiritual grandfather of Ek Villain's plot mechanics. Bobby Deol and Amrita Arora in a twisty, trashy-in-a-good-way crime romance.

But The 90s cinematography has not aged well, and the logic becomes silly in retrospect. It's dated in ways that feel dated, not retro.

Memories of Murder2003

Both are revenge-adjacent thrillers about serial killers that use genre mechanics to explore corruption and the fine line between cop and criminal. But where Ek Villain is emotionally straightforward, this is deliberately unstable.

Bong Joon-ho's masterpiece about serial murder and police obsession in 1980s South Korea. Gorgeously shot crime thriller with the same commitment to stylized violence and moral ambiguity. Everything Ek Villain is reaching for, executed with precision.

But It's Korean cinema, subtitled, and deliberately disorienting. The tone oscillates between comedy and tragedy without warning, and it doesn't close its cases neatly.

Drishyam2015

Both feature protagonists from outside the law navigating systems of violence and investigation. Ek Villain uses that tension for adrenaline; Drishyam uses it for dread and strategy. Same conflict, opposite temperatures.

A man destroys evidence to protect his family after an accident. Malayalam noir that's surgical in its plotting—every scene earns its place. Ajay Devgn's Hindi remake exists, but the original has more control and less melodrama. Genuinely clever.

But It's less action and more cerebral puzzle-box. If you need spectacle and emotional swings, this will feel restrained and cold.